Rockstar Games can boast that GTA 5 has been the most successful video game in its history, even being the second best-selling title of all time with over 200 million copies. However, more than 20 years have passed since the original release of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, a title that many players fondly remember as their favorite in the franchise. It is a legend that continues to be enjoyed like the first day, and interestingly, details unknown until a few hours ago have come to light.
A veteran from Rockstar Games who also worked on GTA 4, Obbe Vermeij, has taken to his X/Twitter account to celebrate the 20th anniversary of GTA San Andreas and recall the development process, share some secrets, and trivia leading up to the release. “We released GTA San Andreas 20 years ago, on October 26, 2004. The original plan was to have the 3 cities on separate maps. The player would travel between cities using trains and planes. GTA 1 and 2 also had three cities on separate maps,” he begins.
It was a different time for Rockstar
He then discusses the limitations of the PlayStation 2. “Memory was very limited in the PS2 and with separate maps, models of the horizons of other cities wouldn’t have to be in memory. It would also be easier to have different police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks for each city. Different objects, weather types, etc. Additionally, it would be easier to contain the player until the moment to access the next city,” he reveals.
Regarding the post, he says they wanted to “organize the models on the DVD city by city“. “Right before the artists started working on the three maps, we had one last meeting with Rockstar North where we changed our minds and decided to make one big map. Still, we ended up including objects, police cars, and specific climates for each city”. In another tweet, he delves into the topic that “game publications were different” back then.
“It took six weeks to produce, package, and distribute the DVDs. Internet patches didn’t exist yet. For us, all the stress happened six weeks before. Most developers had taken vacations, and we were already thinking about our next project. Internet was terrible and, apart from a couple of trailers, players didn’t know much about the game. For big games, stores opened at midnight before the release to pick up pre-orders,” recounts the ex-developer of GTA San Andreas.
“I found out that the publisher had to pay stores to open late. I went to the biggest store near Rockstar North in Edinburgh, and even though it was a rainy night, the line snaked throughout the store and extended into the street. It was amazing to see all those excited people, going home to play all night,” Bermeij concludes.
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